Bad Blood over Obamacare Fight Lingers as Congress Returns

President Barack Obama delivers a health care address to a joint session of Congress at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., Sept. 9, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
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Serving as a backdrop for Congress’ deliberations, including hearings scheduled for Thursday and Wednesday, will be his Twitter account and Trump.
One of them will be a step federal funding that helps millions of children and women that are pregnant. The program is expected to run out of cash if that doesn’t occur.
Republicans in Congress spent six months trying to make good on a campaign promise to repeal and replace Obamacare a leading campaign promise by President Donald Trump, while Democrats remained opposed.

Reauthorization of CHIP is not contentious. The program has support. However, industry officials and lobbyists stated that any healthcare effort in Congress could become partisan.
The government of Trump has moved to undercut Obamacare, backing off authorities of the so-called individual mandate, the requirement that everyone pay a fine or purchase insurance and slashing its marketing budget by 90 percent.
Another issue will be stabilizing the individual insurance market created the signature domestic policy achievement of former Democratic President Barack Obama, under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Recently, the Trump government has worked to undermine it and premiums have been raised by insurers or exited the market.

For failing to deliver on their promise to do away with Obamacare Trump has chastised lawmakers, sometimes by name. If that continues relations between Trump and Republicans could worsen.

The effort, which inflamed partisanship and exposed deep divisions within the Republican Party, ended in July with a failed Senate vote, leaving the legislation in place, but ruined.

The Obamacare markets’ issues have slowed amid conflicting messages from Trump and the Republicans’ attempt. Republican aides and lobbyists said there was little appetite to attempt to repeal and replace it.

But issues could be poisoned by leftover hard feelings in the aftermath of the long, partisan wars that are Obamacare.

They said Republicans were unlikely to take the effort for the rest of 2017 up.

Published at Mon, 04 Sep 2017 13:17:46 +0000

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When the U.S. Congress returns from summer holiday on Tuesday, for the first time in years gutting Obamacare won’t be the main order of business on the healthcare agenda.

Lobbyists several congressional aides and industry officials said they were doubtful that lawmakers would be able to move beyond the sour months-long Republican push to gut Obamacare and somehow achieve cooperation on healthcare.